Two on the Aisle, which opened on Broadway in 1951,
marked the return of Betty Comden and Adolph Green to Broadway.
(They'd been sucked up by the MGM Hollywood "Machine",
writing for movies like Singin' in the Rain and The Bandwagon)
It was also the first time they wrote lyrics with Jule Styne.
The concept of the show was a combo of comedy skits and dance routines...
a revue to showcase the talents of Bert Lahr.
Bert and his co-star Dolores Gray
didn't exactly adore each other,
and the show became known for the two's efforts
to upstage each other.
In the song,"The Clown", Bert impersonated Queen Victoria...
and other primates.
Dolores Gray had a career in film
(It's Always Fair Weather, Designing Women, and Kismet)
and on stage (Annie Get Your Gun, Destry Rides Again, 42nd Street).
She also provided the singing voice for Marilyn Monroe in
There's No Business Like Show Business.
Theatre critic Michael Phillips once said her voice sounded like
"a freight-train slathered in honey".
Actor/Comedian Bert Lahr worked Burlesque, Vaudeville,
Broadway, film and television,
from 1910 to 1967!
His first success in a musical on Broadway was
Hold Everything (1927), and in film...Flying High (1931).
"Laughter is never too far away from tears."
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